


Of Moonlit Strolls and Busy Mornings

by NicePumpkinSpice



Series: Of Sweet Memories and Guarded Moments [50]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 01:32:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3709891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NicePumpkinSpice/pseuds/NicePumpkinSpice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Evelyn struggles to adapt to farm routines.  Mia arrives with her family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Moonlit Strolls and Busy Mornings

Cullen had forgotten how much he loved his mother’s chicken and dumplings. After eating three heaping bowls, he finally began to feel sated. His appetite picked up though when his mother appeared with flaky apple turnovers. Evelyn was left to carry much of the dinner conversation because Cullen was so intent on gorging himself. The twins were fixated on Evelyn’s magical abilities, so she eventually relented and demonstrated some simple spells like lighting candles, conjuring water, and levitating dinner plates to the girls‘ delight. She fielded questions from James and Andrew on the Inquisition’s progress. Bea wanted to hear about how Cullen and she met and became a couple. Martha sat silent for much of the meal only speaking to offer food or drink.

When dinner finished, Cullen wanted to do nothing more than to loosen his pants and lay down by the fire for a nap. His mother had other ideas and summoned Evelyn and him to the kitchen to wash dishes. Wielding guilt as well as her youngest son could use sword, Martha made it clear to Cullen that she was hurt that he’d neglected to keep in contact. She summarized their family’s life in the past decade making sure to point out every time they had been left unsure of Cullen’s well-being and whereabouts.

When the dishes were washed and put away, Martha took Cullen by the shoulders. Although he physically towered over his mother, Martha’s teary gaze held his steadily when she commanded, “Never again, Cullen, do you hear me? You will let us know where you are and how you are at least once a month. If not, I swear by the Maker, I will find you and drag you home by the ear.” She then turned to Evelyn and said, “And I expect that you will make sure that he follows through.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cullen and Evelyn replied in unison. Martha nodded, sniffed, and pulled Cullen into a tight hug. “From this point on, I expect that you’ll visit us, too. Maybe not every year, but more than once a decade.”

“Yes, Mama, and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry. There’s no reasonable excuse for leaving you to worry like I did.” Cullen apologized.

“Well then,” Martha commented, “that’s that.” Cullen kissed his mother’s cheek and then asked Evelyn if she would care for a stroll.

Cullen held Evelyn’s hand as they walked outside by the combination of moon and mage light. Professionalism demanded they limit displays of affection around Skyhold, so both relished the opportunity for closeness.

“Your mother was very upset. Will things be okay?” Evelyn asked.

“Things are fine now. As long as I follow through on keeping in contact, she’ll never bring it up again. How did things go between the two of you earlier tonight?”

“I told her about what it was like growing up in the Circle, and she told me stories of when you begged to become a templar. Before that, though, we discussed how surprised the family was that you would be with a mage.” 

“Oh, Ev, I’m so sorry if she said anything hurtful. Old prejudices die hard.” Cullen said sadly.

“No, nothing like that. She was surprised because of what happened to you at Kinloch Hold. Cullen, they’ve known for years that you were tortured and were waiting for you to be willing to talk. When you stopped writing them, your family harassed the Knight Commander for months until he finally told them what occurred and why you transferred to Kirkwall.”

“Maker,” Cullen sighed. “I never wanted them to know.” 

“You thought you were protecting them by keeping your distance,” Evelyn said sadly. “And they didn’t want to press you to reveal things before you were ready. I wonder how differently things might have gone if one of you had spoken up.”

“It can’t be changed now. Anyway if reaching out to them earlier meant that I might not have met you, then I’m glad things happened as they did,” Cullen said while putting his arm around Evelyn’s back and then kissing the top of her head.

*********************  
As usual, the Rutherford’s were up before dawn. Cullen slid down the ladder from the loft where he was sleeping and made his way to Evelyn’s room. He wanted to make sure that he was the one to rouse her. Her morning grumpiness would not make a good impression with his parents.

Cracking the door open, he saw Evelyn buried beneath the covers. It always amazed him how she breathed sleeping so completely cocooned. He tiptoed over and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Ev, it’s time to get up. We’ve got chores to do,” he said while trying to unravel the knot of bed linens around her.

“Just a few more minutes sleep. I promise I’ll get up,” Evelyn replied in a muffled whine.

“Sorry, love. You’re on a farm. We’re up before the chickens. If need be, I can bring the rooster in here to annoy you. That worked with Mia.”

“Fine. I’m up,” Evelyn said while throwing off her covers. Her hair was a frizzy, tangled mop that partially obscured her face. Cullen grinned seeing that she was sleeping in one of his shirts. “So that’s where my shirt went,” he teased. “I’ll leave you to get ready.” 

Evelyn buried her face in her hands and folded over on to the bed. “Did you know that I hate mornings?” she asked. Cullen chuckled as he headed out the door, “I might have heard that a few times. Put on something comfortable. We’ve work to do.”

A few minutes later Evelyn emerged from her room. She was groggy but had managed to tame her hair and get dressed in the beige outfit she typically wore at Skyhold. Cullen and his parents looked bright eyed. _Fucking morning people_ was Evelyn’s only thought as she passed into the kitchen to make herself tea. Cullen followed her in and said, “No time for tea. We’ll have that once the animals are tended.” Evelyn groaned at the thought of trying to function without a jolt of caffeine.

Cullen picked up a basket beside the back door and motioned for Evelyn to join him. The sun was just beginning to appear on the horizon. Evelyn wrapped her cloak around herself and muttered a warming spell to keep away the morning chill. “So what are we doing?”

“Our chores,” Cullen answered.

“How do I have chores? I’m no farm girl” Evelyn protested.

Cullen smirked. “You are now. Welcome to the family. If you can walk, you work. We’ll see to the chickens first,” he instructed. Reaching the coop, they were greeted by the twins who held bowls of feed that they were sprinkling in front of the hens.

“Good morning.” Beth greeted. “We’re almost done feeding them. Can you collect the eggs?” Haley asked. Both girls shared a sneaky look with each other and suppressed giggles. Cullen suspected the were up to something, but maybe they just found it funny seeing him holding hands with Evelyn.

Feeling brave and wanting to prove that she wasn’t just a sheltered mage, Evelyn took the basket from Cullen and headed into the coop. Cullen stood outside and chatted with his nieces about the different chickens and their personalities. A shrill scream came from inside the coop and Evelyn fade stepped out in a flash. Cullen raced over to see what was wrong and found Evelyn panting, “I grabbed a snake. I reached to get some eggs and got a snake instead.”

“Did it bite you? Where is it?” Cullen asked.

“No, I threw out some electricity and fade stepped the hell away. I’m not going back in there. It’s dark and smelly. You can get the eggs.”

“I’ll need to catch the snake and patch whatever hole it used to get inside.” Cullen thought aloud. Taking the basket, he headed into the coop. He came out a few seconds later holding a black snake by the head and laughing.

“Be careful. Don’t get bit,” Evelyn warned.

Cullen laughed harder and held up the snake. “It’s fake, Ev. Little more than a coil of black leather.” Beth and Haley could be heard giggling behind a nearby woodpile. “It would seem Bea and Andrew put their girls up to some of our old tricks. Mia was hardheaded about not looking before reaching in to grab eggs. We’d stick all manner of things in the nests and wait for her scream. My favorite was when we hid a fully grown bullfrog. She yelled so loud and then tossed that frog almost to the barn.”

“Oh, poor frog.” Evelyn said.

“It was fine. It hopped off like nothing happened. Mia was scarred though. For months, we’d sneak up behind her and say, ‘Ribbit.’ She’d jump out of her skin and then try to catch us. The three of us would take off in different directions because we knew Mia would pound whoever she got a hold of.”

“So Bea was around a lot when you were little?”

“Her father was a field hand. She lived with him and her mother in a cabin on our farm. They were practically family. I was stunned when I heard that Andrew and she were to marry.”

“Why was that odd? She’s very sweet and pretty, too.”

“Yes, but she was like a sister to us. I guess things changed between them as they got older, and I left for training. They seem to be happy together.”

“So no wistfulness about the girl that got away?’”

“For Bea?” Cullen looked at Evelyn like she was insane. “She was like a sister to me except she was more fun than Mia and less whiny than Sarah.”

“Why did everyone pick on Mia so much?” Evelyn asked.

“She was the oldest and was very bossy. We had to do something to keep her in her place. Come on. We’ve more work to do.”

After dropping off the eggs with Cullen’s mother and Bea, Cullen and Evelyn fed and watered the horses and pigs. Next Cullen showed Evelyn how to milk cows which she found fascinating but couldn’t master for the life of her. Handing the pail of milk to the twins to take to their mother and grandmother, Cullen got lead ropes for the horses and mules. Evelyn and he turned the horses out into the far pasture. Cullen then guided the mules to a neighboring pasture. Finally, Evelyn and Cullen returned to the barn to muck the stalls and lay fresh wood shavings for the horses. Evelyn felt her muscles aching and her stomach churning from hunger, but Cullen seemed completely at ease.

“You seem to like farm work. Why did you want to leave for the templars?”

“I had idealistic notions about helping other people, and I always wanted to wear a skirt,” he said with a wry smile.

“Very funny, Commander. This is a nice life, though. Do you miss it?”

“I do, but I also love my job. Are you wanting to run off from the Inquisition and become a farmer?”

“No, they have to get up too early. When do we get to eat anyway?”

“We eat after the animals are tended which is now,” he grinned.

“Thank the Maker. I’m about to faint.”

“Coddled mage,” he teased.

“You know it,” she agreed.

*******************  
Cullen and Evelyn were finishing their breakfast of oatmeal and chicory coffee when they heard wagon wheels on the road. “That’ll be Mia I reckon” James said, “Sarah never arrives on time.” Evelyn nearly jumped out of her chair. She couldn’t wait to meet Mia who had been at the center of most of Cullen’s stories about growing up in Honnleath. “Go on and greet your sister, Cully. Pop and I will clean up,” Martha urged.

Evelyn saw a wagon driven by a burly man with long black hair and a thick beard approaching. The plaid shirt he was wearing strained against his muscular arms. Beside him sitting rigidly was a thin woman with her blond hair pulled back into a bun, a few loose wisps around her face hinted that she shared Cullen’s curly hair. The woman, who Evelyn guessed was Mia, brimmed with nervous energy. Upon seeing his sister, Cullen regressed into the silly boy he had once been. Holding his arms over his head and waving them wildly in greeting, Cullen yelled at the top of his lungs, “Look who’s here! It’s Mia Diarrhea!”

The woman’s face pinched at the nickname, and she swatted at the man beside her who had begun laughing. The wagon stopped, and she hopped out. Outside of the wagon she looked even smaller - barely bigger than Bea, but Evelyn could feel the force of her personality as she approached. “Cully, my sweet little brother,” she said with a cross look on her face. Cullen picked her up and spun her around, “Maker, I’ve missed teasing you, Mia. You look well.”

“Insult me and then kiss up to me. Predictable as ever. Are you going to introduce me to your lass?” Mia said her brown eyes defiantly daring her brother to not comply.

“Of course, Mia, this is the Inquisitor, Lady Evelyn Trevelyan. Evelyn, this is Mia Smith my sister.” Mia scrutinized Evelyn for a good while before saying, “You’re taller than I expected. Prettier, too.”

Evelyn began to greet Mia, but she was already speaking to Cullen. “Cullen, you know my husband Ben. Andrew and you dotted my face with ink the night before he came to court me. Luckily for me, he persisted in pursuing me regardless of my brothers’ ill manners.”

The burly man reached out his hand to Cullen and shook it vigorously. “ When you left for the templars, someone had to keep Mia in line,” he said with a wink. Mia gave him a cross look and then snapped her fingers at which point four boys of stairstep heights got out of the wagon and lined up beside their mother with military precision.

Mia let out a huff and gave a stern glare to one of the middle boys. He immediately stood straighter and tucked in his shirt. With her chin held high, Mia addressed Cullen, “These are our boys. Steven is sixteen. William fourteen. Jack twelve.” The smallest boy stepped out of line, “I’m Marshall. I’m seven. I was a surprise.” Mia cleared her throat, and Marshall moved back into place beside Jack.

“I should hire you to run drills at Skyhold, Mia. Your boys are in fine shape,” Cullen said with a bemused smile. 

“They listen much better than Andrew or you ever did. Steven and William are apprenticed to their father. Jack will begin at the forge next year. And Marshall...”

“My job is to keep Mama happy,” Marshall volunteered.

Cullen laughed at Marshall’s job description. “Then you have quite the task, little man. I never could manage it.”

Mia snorted, “You never tried. So are we to stand out in the road, or shall we go inside to talk?”

Evelyn leaned over toward Ben, “You’re a blacksmith I take it.”

“Aye. I was hoping to see Cullen and you wearing armor. It’d be good for the boys to see well-made gear. I don’t have much of a market for it here. Our work is primarily for farmers and builders.”

“We brought our armor and a few weapons with us. I’d be happy to show them to the boys.” Evelyn offered.

“That’ll be great. If Mia asks, though, it was all your idea. She lectured me half the way here not to bother you.”

“Done.” Evelyn agreed. “I’ll be right back. William, ask your Uncle Cullen to get his armor, sword, and shield out for you.”

Evelyn marched into her room to gather her armor and staff. Her dagger was tucked into her boot already. She glanced out her window and saw a plume of dust trailing behind riders in glinting chainmail that were galloping up the road. Evelyn yelled for Cullen and began throwing her armor on over her clothes.

Cullen was showing his nephews his sword when he heard Evelyn’s panicked voice calling for him. He ran in the room and asked, “What’s wrong? Did you find a spider?”

“No. Soldiers are approaching. Can you tell if they are ours?”

**Author's Note:**

> For some reason, this one didn't link to my series at first. I think I fixed the series link now, though.


End file.
